Want to know how the Taiwanese government drew on ancient wisdom to increase trust levels from below 10% in 2015 to nearly 70% this year?
TLDR: they chose actively to trust - and therefore INVOLVE - the Taiwanese people.
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At the heart of the story is @audreyt, whom I hosted in London this week.
Her deep understanding of trust has been at the heart of Taiwan’s whole approach to government, as a Cabinet Minister from 2016.
Audrey read Lao Tzu and the Tao Te Ching as a young child(!). This quote took hold.
She dropped out of junior high to research “swift trust” - how trust seems both to come and to go more easily in online environments - with researchers at Stanford and other US universities.
Here’s a v quick overview - it’s basically about separating out a democratic decision into phases - so you can then figure out HOW to invite WHOM to participate in each
The idea is to make the most of all the different tools and approaches
Let’s take those one by one
INPUT is really filling the funnel with ideas from everywhere
Making sure everyone who has a stake in a decision can express their view
Not every view will be incorporated - but they can all be heard
Around the time I finished writing the first edition of CITIZENS, @reenwilson and I were presented with an opportunity by @HelenMeech, a friend and former @NewCitProj colleague now working for @Natures_Voice...
Sir David Attenborough was in the process of filming what might well be his final ever documentary series, Wild Isles...
Even in the hectic media landscape of today, an Attenborough series always creates a cultural moment.
The big UK nature NGOs are coming together to crowdsource a “People’s Plan For Nature” - starting by gathering stories and ideas from all over the country and then using a randomly selected citizens’ assembly to digest all that, hear from experts, and produce recommendations
These recs will cover not just “asks” of national government, but of councils and business too - and also crucially what community groups can just get on and do